Director claims Leao was ‘very very close’ to joining Inter but won’t explain why he didn’t

Inter director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that they were close to signing Rafael Leao before he joined AC Milan but refused to go reveal any more on why the move collapsed.

Leao joined Milan from Lille in the summer of 2019 and has since established himself as one of the most talented forwards in Serie A, winning the league MVP award after the 2021-22 Scudetto season.

As tends to happen when a player explodes onto the scene, reports then follow about how other clubs were close to landing them instead and this is no different for the Portuguese winger, given he had begun to showcase his abilities in France.

Interviewed by the newspaper Libero, Ausilio was asked by the journalist Fabrizio Biasin if it is true that Leao was close to signing for Inter. His response was relayed by Radio Rossonera, and he confirmed the previous rumours.

“It’s true, he was close to Inter. He was very very close. We had an agreement with Lille , an agreement found rather quickly in a meeting that took place in London with the owner of the French club,” he said.

“We didn’t continue with the agreement. We didn’t even get to the point of talking too deeply with the boy, but I won’t tell you why.”